8/24 Refuge I Re Magi to Pamplinet

An easy day ahead and we both slept well - in fact we arose after 7:30, our breakfast time but no matter. We were away by 9. The sky was moving with broken clouds which were darker up north. The GR went up a gravel road leaving town and upon entering forest began to switchback up but nicely so. After the previous days verticle ascent out of town we both commented on how easy this seemed. We climbed the 1300 ft up in a little over an hour and at the Col des Thures there is a picturesque lake with nice reflections as we paused with the camera and note writing to our Dutch friends.
From here the GR goes down through dry brown grassy landscape. A walker leading a loaded packhorse followed by a donkey tied to the horses tail made for irresistible photos. It looks like this could go on forever - a long plain withmountains in the distance. But suddenly it all ends at a sharp edge where the plateau is eroding sharply into the valley below. The conglomerate nature of the material suggests perhaps huge glacial influences. There are a few hoodoos present one prominent and named La Demoiselle. The trail descends smoothy only steep in a few spots eventually reaching the area just east of Nevache where we arrived in 3 hours. We found a pizzeria and ordered pizza and salad for lunch both excellent and notably different in a way we attribute to our proximity to Italy.
Afterward we walked leisurely to our days destination Pamplinet. It is obviously an old town with at least 3 places to stay. No grocery store here though! Our lodging was a remodeled old building which was very comfortable and elegantly done. After cleanup, Tammy read while I went out and poked around with my camera finally returning to sit on lawn chair with a bottle of Badoit water and a blog session. Dinner in the Gite was at a communal table. The couple next to us we're from Nice. Coincidently, Marie next to me was also an Anesthesiologist ! We had a lively discussion and we have the chance to see them again when our trip ends.